Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

Courtesy of Food & Wine

Serves 4

½ cup dark brown sugar

About ¼ cup fish sauce (nam pla)

¼ cup water

3 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

1 tsp coarsely ground pepper

2 fresh Thai chiles, halved, or dried red chiles

1 tbsp canola oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 cilantro sprigs

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, water, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chiles.

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the fish sauce mixture and the chicken and simmer over high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with the cilantro and serve.

Key Lime Pie

Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Serves 8

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

½ cup granulated sugar

4 tbsp (½ stick butter) melted

2 (14-oz) cans sweetened condensed milk

1 cup key lime or regular lime juice

2 whole large eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tbsp lime zest

Preheat the oven to 375˚.

In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan, and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 325˚.

In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pie shell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.

Twelve Hour Roast Pork

Courtesy of Suzanne Somers’ Get Skinny on Fabulous Food

Serves 15

1 whole shoulder of pork with skin (7to 9 lbs)

12 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1.6 oz bottle fennel seeds

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 small dried chilies, crumbled

Juice of 6 lemons

4 tbsp olive oil

Pan Drippings

1 14-oz can chicken broth

Juice of 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 450˚.

Score the entire skin of the shoulder by slicing deeply through the skin and into the meat. Continue scoring, making cuts ¼ inch apart from one another.

Place the garlic, fennel seeds, salt and pepper to taste, and chilies in a food processor. Pulse until all the seasonings are coarsely ground. Rub this mixture all over the skin of the pork and into the cut areas to cover all the surfaces of the meat.

Place the shoulder on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes, or until skin begins to crackle and brown. Loosen the shoulder from the bottom of the pan and pour half the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over the pork.

Turn the oven temperature down to 250˚ and roast the pork for 12 to 18 hours. The pork becomes almost shredded, crispy on the outside and moist from the juices on the inside. It’s ready when it is completely soft under the crisp skin. You can tell by pushing with your finger; the meat will give and might even fall off the bone. It will be cooked after 12 hours, but if you like it crispier, cook it for closer to 18 hours. Baste occasionally with the remaining lemon juice and olive oil.

For delicious pan drippings, remove the meat from the pan. Pour off most of the fat, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Place the roasting pan with all the bits of meat stuck to the bottom on the stove over medium heat. Scrape the bits as the pan heats up. When the pan gets good and hot, add the can of chicken broth and the juice of 2 lemons. Deglaze the pan by scraping all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the juices and the broth reduce for about 5 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the meat.

Editor’s Note: You may not get this far. I was forced to dump the chicken broth and lemon juice into the pan with the pork still in it, as we gathered around, pulling chunks of pork off the bone and dunking them. The sauce is incredible … it literally melts away any worries you might have been harboring during the day.

Butternut Squash & Candied Bacon

Adapted from Canal House Cooks Every Day

Serves 4

1 lb slab bacon, trimmed of rind and excess fat

½ cup dark brown sugar

4 cups ¼-inch-thick-bite-size slices butternut squash

4 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400˚. Cut the bacon into small cubes and toss with the brown sugar in a bowl. Spread the bacon out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the pieces are glazed and crispy yet meaty, about 20 minutes.

Put the squash into a large pot of salted water and gently boil over medium heat until tender, 5-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When it begins to turn golden, add the squash and cook until just warmed through. Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the squash topped with bacon. Sprinkle with roasted butternut squash seeds, if desired.

Cheddar-Crusted Chicken with Garlicky Spinach

Courtesy of Cook’s Country

Serves 4

1½ cups crispy rice cereal, crushed

6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1½ cups)

4 (6-oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed

Salt and pepper

18 oz (18 cups) baby spinach

2 tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

Adjust the rack to the middle position and heat oven to 400˚. Spray rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray (or line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it for easy clean up.) Combine cereal and cheddar in shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge both sides of breasts in cereal-cheddar mixture, pressing to adhere, and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Bake until chicken registers 160˚ and coating is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer to serving platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil.

Meanwhile, place spinach and ¼ cup water in large bowl, cover, and microwave until spinach is wilted and decreased in volume by half, about 4 minutes. Transfer spinach to colander and, using rubber spatula, press to release liquid. Transfer spinach to cutting board and roughly chop.

Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spinach to skillet and cook until uniformly wilted and glossy green, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer spinach to platter and serve with chicken.

Asian Beef and Broccoli

Courtesy of Parents Magazine

Serves 6

¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

¼ cup orange juice, divided

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

Nonstick cooking spray

2½ lb boneless beef chuck, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-inch pieces

2½ cups frozen broccoli flowerets (10 oz)

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp orange marmalade

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup dry roasted cashews

Hot cooked rice or Asian noodles (We served this with whole wheat Chinese noodles.)

In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, 3 tablespoons orange juice, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Coat the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Add the beef and the soy sauce mixture; stir to combine. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 hours.

Just before beef is done, place broccoli in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Cover bowl with waxed paper. Cook on 100% power (high) for 4 minutes; drain off any liquid. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a large bowl. Use the spoon or 2 forks to break up the beef into smaller pieces. Add the broccoli to the bowl. Cover to keep warm and set aside.

Place a small fine mesh sieve over a small saucepan. Pour the juices from the slow cooker into the pan. In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Add to saucepan. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in orange marmalade, remaining 1 tablespoon orange juice, and pepper to taste.

Add about half of the sauce and cashews to the beef and broccoli mixture; toss to coat. Serve over hot cooked rice or noodles; pass remaining sauce.

Slow-Roasted Spiced Baby Back Ribs

Courtesy of Sara Moulton Cooks at Home

Serves 6

6 lbs baby back ribs

¼ cup sweet or hot paprika

2 tbsp kosher salt

½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup chili powder

5 to 6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp dry mustard

1 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste

1 recipe Rick’s Barbecue Sauce (see below)

Use your fingers to pull off and remove the thin papery skin from the back of each rib. Combine the paprika, salt, sugar, chili powder, garlic, cumin, mustard, and cayenne in a small bowl and mix well. Rub the mixture all over the ribs. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 250˚. Place the ribs meat side up in one layer on several sheet pans and bake, turning from time to time, until very tender, 3½ to 4 hours. About 30 minutes before the ribs are done, remove them from the oven and brush liberally on all sides with the barbecue sauce. Bake until very tender. Serve additional sauce on the side.

Rick’s Barbecue Sauce

Makes about 1 quart

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 to 3 onions, to taste, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced

½ tsp hot red pepper flakes

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp dry mustard

¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

3 cups ketchup

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño, and pepper flakes. Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching. Pour in the ketchup, add 2 cups of water, and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until thick, pulpy, and dark red, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Variations: Add 1 seeded, deveined, and finely diced habanero pepper to the sauce as it is cooling. Substitute maple syrup for one of the sugars. Finish with chopped fresh rosemary, sage, or thyme.